Family Expeditions Inc.

Thailand with Kids: Chatuchak Market,and saying good bye to Bangkok.

Our final destination in Bangkok was the famous Chatuchak market. Almost universally acclaimed as a must-see if you are in Bangkok on the weekend, Chatuchak is supposed to be the largest outdoor market in the world. We found our way there easily on the skytrain and arrived about two hours before closing time. It took us a while to figure out where we were – the market is divided into many different sections, and consists of tiny dark alleyways packed with tons of stalls. Those alleyways are stiflingly hot and we quickly retreated to the main thoroughfares which criss-cross the market. At least we could breath in these, and even get something to eat. I had to have Thailand’s most popular snack – mango and sticky rice, and it was awesome.

We left soon after – the stalls were closing down, and the kids really didn’t enjoy themselves – too hot, too stuffy – not a place for families.

We were leaving Bangkok the next day, and we had loved it. I had been very wary – in fact I had told to avoid it completely as a place that just wasn’t worth taking kids to. But we learned that there are many faces to Bangkok, and what made it for us was the fact that we stayed in Thewet – a really authentic part of the city which we loved. If we had only stayed in the Sukhumvit area, we wouldn’t think of going back. But Thewet was a completely different story – amazing!